LANCASTER LM 178 of 300 Squadron

Hi Gill,

Thanks for looking in again. I am not sure on the timeframe for the museum but will try to find out. I am sure that anything you have to donate will be gratefully received, no matter when it arrives!

As for more info on your grandad, I will talk to Sam's widow, Grace, soon and will ask if she has any more info or stories from Sam, in particular relating to him.

Which brings to mind a story about the piece of Sam's parachute I mentioned earlier. Apparently before they made their last visit to France (in 2007?), Sam was woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night. On the other end of the line, a man was babbling very excitedly in French and when Sam got him to slow down, he was able to make out that the man had found Sam's parachute. Sam's response was, "Well, you can keep it. I don't need it any more!" And he promptly hung up. Fortunately, the gentleman didn't take "No" for an answer and presented it to Sam when they got to France.

Cheers,
Don

 

I believe it was in 2004.

 

Hi Don,

just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about finding any bits for the tribute display. I've made contact with my mum's cousin, who is moving at the mo, but said he would have a search through his mum's documents. Also, emailed my cousin, just in case he has anything. Will keep you posted. Do you have the name of the museum making the display? I would love to see if I could get a photo of the display. - Thought they may have a website with info on current displays. I have found a very small photo of the aircrew standing in front of the Lancaster Bomber LM178. (Same as shown on this forum, but with 'LM178' visible on the plane.) Also have a photo of my grandad and (I think) Leslie, the wireless operator in smart raincoats. But again, the photo is very small and a little faint.

I have taken a photo of a page from my gran's autograph book dated 1938, when she was still in India. It is not from my grandad, and therefore has no relevance to LM178 air crew, but I thought it was just interesting to see as it has a couple of meaningful quotes and a a small sketch of a bomber. Tommy and Lou - you might like it too! But help! Can't seem to attached photos to this post as 'file was too big to upload'. Took both photos at 5 mega pixels and cropped them and tried attaching as one photo per file?? Any ideas?

Cheers,

Gill

 

Hi Gill

To upload pictures on a forum ,you need to upload them via a buffer site like Photobucket.com

Once you have uploaded them there, all you have to do is copy and pste the image link.

 

Thanks Skipper, I'll try this.

 

Hi Gill,

Nice to hear from you. Here is a link to the Sombra Twp. Museum web site...http://www.twp.stclair.on.ca/sombra_museum.htm. It is a very small community, population about 400, and the museum site is just one page. You could use their e-mail to contact them about Sam's display I guess. I haven't spoken to his wife for a month or more so I am not sure of the status.

Hope this helps.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

Cheers,
Don

 

Hurrah - got there in the end! Just to mention - hope one of the quotes isn't taken as being insulting to women, I certainly didn't think that as a woman myself, but you never know what somebody else might feel. It was written a long time ago and in jest. I assume it was written by a young friend of my gran, who was seventeen at the time. Feel free to remove, if not appropriate. Thanks Don for museum link. Will email them.

 

Cool! Your gran's friend is quite the artist. Are you going to post those crew pics of LM178?

Don

 

Hi Don, I think you've got this, but not sure if yours is a complete photo. Pasted same photo. one complete, the other slightly closer image, but both showing LM178 sign. Keep you posted on anything else that crops up from relatives.

 

Hello Gill, glad I could help and that you managed to post these pictures. No one here would say you couldn't do it because you are a woman, we prefer picking on Texans and Taffies (because we like them so much ) .

The pictures would be appreciated in France too. would it be Ok if I forward these to some of the people near Marchenoir and Blois?

 

Hi Skipper,

Ha ha! Just to keep me in the picture - what are Taffies? Please send photos to whoever you think would be interested. I've started to think about arrangements for trip to Orleans next July. I would really like to see if we could visit the field where their plane came down and also the memorial plaque in St Laurent des Bois (if that's right?). Noticed that Mike45 has added some details to this forum - is he the contact in France? Would he know where the exact field is and who I would need to get permission from to visit it? Sorry about all the questions.

Cheers, Gill

 

Gill,

Thank you for posting those shots! I did not have them. Were they scans of original photos? I am just wondering as they seem a bit distorted.

Don

 

Hi Don, yes original photo. I took some photos of it close up by the lamp for extra light and then downloaded onto the computer. We've never worked out our scanner, we just use the printer part. - Lame I know!!
The photo itself is only 8cm by 5.5cm and has slightly warped over time, which I think is causing the effect of being distorted. I will flatten it under a load of really heavy books overnight and then take a picture of it tomorrow, outside where the light will hopefully be better.

 

Thanks, Gill. Sorting out the scanner is really your best bet, if you can. Taking a photo of a photo will always cause some distortion and coloration and won't give as good a representation of the original as a high- resolution scan will. Just my experience from being in the graphics business for many years and, of course, just a suggestion.

Many thanks for posting this image as it answers a question I asked Sam which he could never answer. Your full image clearly shows that LM178 was equipped with an H2S dome, which hung from the bottom of the aircraft just below the crew hatch. Thanks for that!

Don

 

Hi Gill,

Thanks for the permsission.

Yes, I know the place which is near a forsest near Marchenoir outside St Laurent. Relics can be seen in the Blois museum too. I have a couple of friends there. So when you have plans you can contact me and I could possibly make arrangements. I don't know Mike.

 

A Taffy is a nickname for a Welshman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_was_a_Welshman

One of our most prominent and loved members is Welsh and we love to remind him .

 

Hi Skipper - guess I would should know about Taffies being their neighbour. Details for the trip will be great. - Much appreciated. Will keep you posted.

And to Don - really glad to have answered your query about the H2S Dome. I'm going to try to work out the scanner tonight, if I can't, then I'll find someone who uses one. It's funny because I know everyone at my work avoids the scanner there.

 

We've have mastered our scanner! ... Sort of.

 

Wonderful quality! Thanks for the effort and sharing. Would it be possible to scan the other picture too (the one from the 1930s)?

 

Perfect!!!! Great job!